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[Fact/Fiction]
[Time Capsule]
[Diary]
Starting your
own Diary
The first step is to get yourself
a blank book. It is best if it already has lines to write on. A
spiral notebook will do great!
Set up your page like this and use these questions to get started:
Date
Dear Diary,
- What did you do today?
- How did you feel?
- What is happening that is important to
you?
- What are some of your
favorite things?
Here is an example.
November 27, 2000
Dear Diary,
Today I went to school and saw tons of my friends. I really like
school and my teacher is neat. I felt good today because we made
paintings, which is my favorite activity! My family is planning
on moving soon which is a little scary but also exciting. My new
room will be cool and I don't have to share with my sister any more,
which is awesome. Now I am going to watch my favorite movie, Austin
Powers.
What can you learn from a Diary? Take another
look at the example:
Learning from Language:
Language changes through time. Different generations have different
words that become part of everyday speech. This is called slang.
What slang words are found in the example? tons,
neat, cool, and awesome
While these words seem normal to us, someone reading this 20 years
ago or even 20 years in the future might not understand what they
mean. Let's look at some old fashion slang.
Some of these words include graveled,
affront and risibility.
If someone used these phrases today would you know what they meant
without this guide? Slang changes fairly often. Ask your parents
what slang words were popular when they were young.
What other information
can give us clues about the time period?
When you write or read a diary the first very important information
is the date. This tells you exactly what time period the diary is
from. But what if you want to learn more about the year or even
the exact date the diary was written? This is when we can become
detectives! In the example above, the author says that his/her favorite
movie is Austin Powers. Did they have movies in 1861? No! There
is your first clue. Not only do you know that there are movies in
the time period this was written but you can find out when Austin
Powers was made and know if the author is going to see the movie
in a theater or on video!
Leaving clues
for people in the future:
What in your life can describe the time in which you live? How about
a description of your room? The objects you have might be very different
than those in the future. Even your clothing styles might be ver
different. You could start your diary by writing what you wore that
day. Finally you can tell the future readers about what is going
on in the world at that time. In A Light in the Storm, Amelia Martin
writes about the Civil War. Is there anything important going on
in your town? Ask your parents about some current events that you
could write about. Find something that is interesting to you!
Being
Personal:
While someone in the future may read your diary to learn about you
and your time period, the diary is mainly just for you! Amelia Martin
used her diary as a friend because her family lived on an island
with no one her age. You can write personal feelings and thoughts
in a diary that you may not want to share with anyone else. Keep
your diary in a special place and you could even decorate it to
make it extra personal. You can write in your diary everyday or
whenever you feel like it. It's all up to you so have fun with it!
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